Tottenham Boss Casts Eye Over Promising Sergi Samper at Barcelona B Game

Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas utilised the international break to cast an eye over some of Barcelona's brightest prospects, including 18-year-old midfielder Sergi Samper.

The Portuguese coach was photographed in attendance as Barcelona B took on Deportivo La Coruna at the club's Mini Estadi stadium as he took the opportunity to see some of the products of Barca's revered La Masia academy in action.

The Daily Mail suggest the Spurs boss was paying particular attention to Samper, a midfielder highly regarded by the club's hierarchy.

The metronome of the Barcelona midfield that competed in last season's NextGen series; Samper would appear to be another heir to Xavi's throne, displaying similar traits to the Spain international in his ability to control the tempo of the game and effortlessly find space to make himself available for a pass.

The youngster excelled when Barcelona met Tottenham in last season's NextGen clash, pulling the strings in midfield as the Catalan youngsters claimed a 2-0 win at White Hart Lane.

Following in the footsteps of Pep Guardiola, Xavi, Anders Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas and the departed Thaigo Alcantara, Samper is expected to have an extremely bright future at the Nou Camp in the coming years.

The club are unlikely to entertain any offers for the teenager should Villas-Boas follow up on his scouting mission with a January bid. However the Mail suggests the Spurs boss was also monitoring the progress of 21-year-old midfielder Javier Espinosa and 24-year-old goalkeeper Jordi Masip.

Tottenham have also been recently linked with another young Barcelona midfielder in Sergi Roberto. The 21-year-old midfielder made his move up to the first team over the summer following the departure of Thiago, who joined Bayern Munich.

However, Roberto has been awarded less than 15 minutes of game time for the club this season in a series of fleeting appearances from the bench. Spanish newspaper El Mundo Deportivo reported Tottenham attempted to sign the midfielder on a loan deal over the summer, similarly to the move that saw Gerard Deulofeu join Everton for the campaign.

However the La Liga champions resisted such efforts and will reportedly do the same should clubs approach them for the midfielder when the January transfer window opens.